Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Samples and how they affect render times
This mostly has to do with the AEX rendering engine, but there are some settings
in Element that have a "Samples" parameter. Each sample represents a potential
re-rendering of the entire frame. For instance, motion-blur samples require a render
of a sub-frame for every frame of the video, and then they are all blended together
before the system can move on to the next frame.
Samples are used in the ambient occlusion, depth of field, motion blur, frame
blending, and the list goes on and on. If there are samples, turn them down enough
to where they look good, but run them efficiently. The extra few minutes of tweaking
the sample settings on all your element layers and AEX parameters can literally save
you
hours
of rendering. Let's take a look at an example in the following screenshot:
Can you guess which one has an optimized setting? The image on the left has an
ambient occlusion sample setting of
10
while the one on the right has a sample
size of
50
. Sure, the one on the right
does
look somewhat better. However, would
you really notice it when the video is in motion? The render time difference for 900
frames of video is significant (even with only this
one
setting changed). The image
on the left is of 21 minutes. The image on the right is of 49 minutes. (This is the time
taken to render the entire 900 frame video.) That's less than half the time with only
one setting changed! Now, imagine if we optimized the depth of field and motion
blur as well? You get the point. Samples can make things look lush, but they come
at a significant cost.
